Roaring River State Park hosted Youth Corps job fair

Thursday, March 10, 2011By Lisa Schlichtman

The State Parks Youth Corps will continue in 2011, and Roaring River State Park will be one of the beneficiaries of the nationally recognized program that was launched by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon last year.

A job fair was held Tuesday, March 1 at Roaring River to help fill positions at the local park. Park staff were available at the park store from 6 a.m. to noon on Opening Day to answer questions about the program and accept applications.

The State Parks Youth Corps will provide jobs for youth age 17 to 21 from April 1 through Nov. 30. Young workers earn $7.25 an hour and will working across Missouri to improve state parks and historic sites. On average, youth corps workers put in 400 hours during their employment.

According to Roaring River State Park Superintendent Dusty Reid, Roaring River has been allocated 30 positions.

"We are excited to get workers started as early as April 1 for the 2011 season," said Reid.

This will be the second year that Roaring River has benefited from the program, which won a national award from the National Parks Association in 2010.

Youth corps members perform a variety of tasks, which include painting buildings, repairing roofs, planting trees, maintaining trails and assisting in offices and nature centers.

In 2010, State Parks Youth Corps workers contributed more than 187,500 hours to the state park system. Statewide, the group applied more than 2,000 gallons of paint and stain, reroofed more than 25 structures, developed 145 videos for the state park website and improved almost 650 miles of trails in 58 parks and historic sites.

At Roaring River, Youth Corps crews reroofed several buildings, painted the interior and exterior of park cabins and assisted with interpretative programs at the Ozark Chinquapin Nature Center to name just a few of their accomplishments.

The program is supported by the Missouri Division of Workforce Development, the Missouri Division of State Parks and local Workforce Investment Boards. Youth workers are recruited through the local boards and placed at parks where the staff there provide guidance and leadership for the workers.

The 2011 State Parks Youth Corps is funded by Workforce Investment Act 15 percent funds, and as a result, youth must meet Workforce Investment Act guidelines in order to be hired.

Applications and additional information on eligibility guidelines are available at MO.gov.